


Charlotte's Story

by lilacsigil



Category: Long Live the Queen (Video Game)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-21
Updated: 2014-12-21
Packaged: 2018-03-02 13:48:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2814200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilacsigil/pseuds/lilacsigil
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Charlotte is the heroine of her own tale.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Charlotte's Story

**Author's Note:**

  * For [KannaOphelia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KannaOphelia/gifts).



Poor Elodie hadn't been able to attend her mother's sudden funeral, so Charlotte had cried doubly hard on her behalf. 

"Why didn't they wait until Elodie returned from school?" she asked her mother, but she was in full Countess mode and simply murmured some platitude about following tradition. It was no use approaching her when she was like this, and Charlotte's father – brother of the Queen – was far too upset to talk about it. 

Fortunately, Charlotte had other options, such as her little brother. "Emry! Why is everyone in such a big hurry? Poor Elodie isn't going to get to say goodbye to her mother!"

Emry, as always, had the gossip. He was a naturally scruffy little boy with a talent for fitting in with the servants. "They say the Queen was cursed! Her body was all shrivelled up like a dead leaf, so they had to bury her fast."

"Oh, Emry, that doesn't seem very likely, does it?" 

He rolled his eyes. "That's what the servants said! Maybe she had an illness and didn't tell anyone." He looked scared for a moment. "I hope no-one else catches it."

"I don't think you have to worry," Charlotte told him decisively, though she certainly wouldn't tell him why. Charlotte had been gifted with healing talents, and her mother had strictly forbidden her revealing them, for fear that sick and desperate people might kidnap her, or that the superstitious might think she was a witch and attack her. One of the benefits, though, was knowing when somebody was sick, often before they did, and nobody here was sick beyond the usual minor complaints. 

Charlotte's sympathetic misery for Elodie was alleviated only when her father told them that they would be travelling to the capital again to visit Elodie as soon as her father brought her back from school. Charlotte herself had to make do with tutors, thanks to her over-protective parents, and usually envied Elodie and the other noble girls. Right now, though, she couldn't think of anything worse than being stuck so far away while her mother died. 

For the week between the funeral and Elodie's return, Charlotte studied up on court manners in public and healing magic in private with her mother, thinking that both could help Elodie. She wasn't of age yet, and Charlotte had heard her parents talking in the carriage on the way home, saying that Elodie's succession to the throne was still in doubt and that anyone might try to swoop in and take advantage of such a young girl in such a precarious position. Even foreign nations like Shanjia would have heard the news by now and be paying attention. 

Finally, the family all piled into the carriage and headed off on the Queen's Road along the river towards the castle. There were a lot more guards than usual, and Charlotte was quietly wondering why when her little sister Zahra spoke up instead.

"Mummy, why are there so many guards? Shouldn't we leave some behind to guard our castle?"

"Zahra, dear, whenever a king or queen dies, there can be a lot of people who want to take the throne. The Queen was your aunt, so if someone bad managed to hurt Cousin Elodie, your father would be next in line, then Charlotte."

"We're in danger too?" Emry asked, sounding excited.

Their father pushed him down into his seat. "It's possible. Now, stay in your seat. I don't want you climbing out the window again."

"No, Father." Emry was already eyeing the other window.

Charlotte didn't say anything, but she could see from her mother's face that she was really worried. She only got that vertical line between her eyebrows when she was thinking really hard. It must be really difficult for her, having to worry about Elodie and about her own family at the same time. Charlotte vowed to do her best to help: after all, one day she would be the Duchess of Merva, with similar heavy responsibilities!

When they arrived at the castle, there were plenty of guards there, too. Charlotte was glad: obviously Uncle Joslyn was aware of the dangers just as her parents were. He had looked terrible at the funeral, leaning heavily on his brother, the Duke of Mazomba, but maybe he was happier now that Elodie was home with him. 

"Elodie, darling!" Her mother was first out of the carriage, hurrying down the unfolded steps to embrace her niece. Poor Elodie looked terribly sad, of course. 

Helpfully holding her siblings back so that her father could descend next, Charlotte bit her lip. She wanted to express her sympathy, but maybe Elodie would rather be cheered up.

"Hi, 'Lodie!" Charlotte called out as she climbed down.

"Hi, Lottie! I haven't seen you in ages! Will you be staying long?"

Charlotte beamed. Elodie was looking happier already. "Yup! Mummy said we'll be here all month."

"Maybe we'll have some time to talk later." 

Elodie was hurried off towards the stables by one of her many tutors, and Charlotte waved to her as she went. 

"Poor Elodie! She must be so busy!" Charlotte said to her father. 

"She has a lot of responsibilities right now, my dear. I'm sure her father won't want her distracted."

"We can talk to each other on the weekend at least! They must give her some time off or her brain will explode!"

"I'm sure they do, sweetheart." Her father absently patted her on the arm and went off to talk to Uncle Joslyn. 

At her mother's urging, Charlotte spent all week studying with the tutors available at the castle, though she missed her tutors from home. She didn't dare ask about healing magic, but there was a priestess who was pleased to help her study healing in general. The physician at home was very discouraging of Charlotte learning anything of the sort, so it was quite exciting to have someone knowledgeable help her learn more about healing herbs and dangerous poisons. 

After barely seeing Elodie all week, they were finally permitted some time together on the weekend. Elodie looked terribly stressed, so Charlotte cast around for something cheerful to say. 

"I love this room! It's so much bigger than my one at home."

Elodie smiled weakly. "You should visit more often. It's awful that the only time I get to see you is…something like this." She looked down, then set her jaw firmly so that she could carry on. "I know your brother and sister are still too young, but why haven't you come to school?"

"My mother worries about me. She doesn't think that anywhere except home is safe." She nodded towards the two Mervan guards who, even now, were at the door.

"I understand. I'm probably not going to be able to leave this castle until my birthday. But at least we can have fun together here!"

Charlotte hugged Elodie and they spent the rest of the afternoon sorting through all Elodie's clothes, putting aside dresses that were too small or not suitable now that she was nearly the Queen. Elodie was still far too small to wear any of her mother's gowns, but apparently the ceremonial coronation robes were already being altered to fit. 

"I don't want to look childish," Elodie told Charlotte. "I've been practising my royal demeanour with a tutor, but I don't feel like I'm getting anywhere. Still, he taught my mother, too, and said it took her a while to learn to really impress people."

"I'm sure you'll manage! You're much more dignified than I am, at least!"

That did seem to cheer Elodie, and Charlotte thought how awful it must be for her, being the only young person in the entire castle until Charlotte's family arrived. Charlotte knew that she often felt stupid around adults herself, especially around her mother. 

She only briefly saw Elodie again, at the services in the chapel, but they at least exchanged a wave, and Elodie was looking a little happier. Their paths didn't cross during the week after that: Elodie was out learning to use a sword and ride a horse, and Charlotte certainly wasn't interested in either of those. It wasn't as if her mother would have let her near a blade or a large trampling animal anyway. 

Continuing her studies with Priestess Selene through the week, Charlotte started to feel that the priestess knew more about Charlotte than she was letting on. She directed Charlotte to study battlefield medicine, as well as the herbs they had already been studying, and how likely was it that Charlotte would ever be near a wounded soldier, if one didn't already know about her healing abilities? 

"Mummy," she said one evening, "Do you think that there's other people with magical powers too? Apart from the Duchess of Ursul, of course, everyone knows about her." The current duchess, Julianna, was also descended from Charlotte's great-great-grandmother, and was open about her magical abilities. The things she had heard people said about her made Charlotte shiver: not because the Duchess sounded like a bad person, but because people were genuinely frightened by the small, helpful magics that the Duchess used in public. 

"Well, it used to be that every noble family held a Lumen – that's the old name – or sometimes several. I don't want to scare you, darling, but the Lumens of the past weren't always good people. They used their powers in battle and to strike down their enemies. After a while, there weren't very many left, and most of them remained secret. The late Queen was a Lumen, did you know?"

"No, I didn't! Is Elodie?"

"No, she's not. And you must not talk about your abilities, not even to Elodie, do you understand me?"

"Yes, mother." Charlotte decided not to mention Priestess Selene, in case her mother took them all home. That wouldn't be much help to Elodie at all!

One morning Charlotte was getting dressed and helping her little sister do the same when she heard a great commotion out in the courtyard. She threw open the shutters, and she and Zahra peeked out.

Uncle Joslyn was yelling at a woman who had emerged from a carriage. Charlotte didn't recognise the woman's face, but she did recognise her coat-of-arms: that was the Duchess of Ursul herself!

"It's because of you and your powers that my wife is dead!" Uncle Joslyn bellowed, but the Duchess didn't seem intimidated in the slightest. 

Elodie had run down into the courtyard and was sticking close to her father's side, her eyes wide. Charlotte waved to her but she didn't see. 

The Duchess stood her ground. "I am a Lumen, as was she, and like every Lumen I am willing to give my life if necessary to protect our domain." Her voice wasn't loud, but it carried perfectly.

Uncle Joslyn yelled something about her being a traitor, and that she wouldn't get to corrupt his daughter. 

"Zahra, go find Mummy, please." 

Zahra looked upset by the confrontation, and she needed no further urging to hurry off to the adjoining rooms.

Charlotte wasn't sure what the Duchess had said next, but both she and the Dowager King were looking expectantly at Elodie. 

"Elodie, your mother trusted me and I have much to teach you," the Duchess added.

Elodie stuck her jaw out, as she had when trying not to cry yesterday. "You are a traitor to the crown and I ought to have you executed! Guards! Arrest her!" 

Charlotte caught her breath in horror. Her mother had been completely right: it wasn't safe to talk about magical abilities to anyone. She felt her mother's arm around her shoulders. 

"Are you all right, darling? Julianna will be all right in the dungeons – it's not like anything there can hurt her."

"She only wanted to help!" Charlotte turned and cried into her mother's expensive brocade dress. "Everything is terrible since the Queen died!"

"We all have to do our best," her mother said, stroking her hair. "What's best for our family and for the kingdom."

Charlotte wasn't sure what she meant, but it sounded comforting, and she let her mother's embrace soothe her, trying not to listen to the marching feet of the guards as they took the Duchess of Ursul down to the dungeons.

Later that week, Charlotte was returning from the chapel where Priestess Selene had been teaching her basic anatomy and saw Elodie coming out of the dungeons. She was in a big hurry and looked angry, so Charlotte didn't try to stop her, but it gave her an idea. Ducking into the kitchens – Emry had been spending plenty of time there so she knew they didn't mind visitors – she asked the cooks for some food, and they gave her some bread, cheese, a cold pie and an apple, all in in a basket. 

Charlotte held her head high as she walked past the guards into the dungeon. 

"Halt, Lady Merva," one of the guards said politely, without putting his spear in front of her. 

"Hello! I've come to visit my aunt, Duchess Ursul," she told him, equally polite. "Aunt" was a bit of a stretch, but not actually a lie: they were something like second cousins, as far as Charlotte understood.

"Yes, my lady." He checked the contents of the basket, but didn't impede her any further. There were stairs leading to the lower levels, where most of the prisoners were held, but the sole noble prisoner had a better cell, with tiny slit windows letting in some sunshine.

The Duchess sat with perfect posture in her cell, looking in Charlotte's direction as if she had expected her all along. 

"You must be Lucille's daughter," she said, her gaze perfectly level. Charlotte could understand why people were scared of her, but she was determined not to be afraid.

"Yes, I'm Charlotte. I brought you some food."

The Duchess smiled, and Charlotte relaxed a little. She still had a sharp, scary face, but so did Charlotte's mother, and she knew that the sharpness was reserved for outsiders. 

"They do feed me in here, but some fresh food is very welcome. Thank you." She took the basket and put it aside. "Now, why have you really braved the dungeons?"

Charlotte sidled right up to the bars, and the Duchess moved closer. "Everyone knows that you're a Lumen, but…I was wondering how you knew? In the beginning, I mean?"

"My father was a Lumen himself, and when I was young I started to show some minor magical talents. When he passed away, he bequeathed his Lumen stone to me, and with that, I can do much more."

"Someone has to die for a person to learn magic?" Charlotte was horrified.

"Oh, no! I'm sorry to alarm you. It's customary to pass a Lumen stone down from parent to child, but there are more Lumen stones than there are Lumens, these days."

"Weren't they all destroyed?"

"Despite what you may have been told, it's impossible to destroy one. They're just well hidden, and of course many were lost when the old palace was overrun by monsters."

Charlotte pursed her lips. Should she tell the Duchess what she could do, or not? It would be wonderful to have someone to confide in, but also she was locked up right now and she didn't want to risk another visit.

Before she could decide, the Duchess spoke again. "You need to speak to your mother about this. She knows more than she is telling you."

"Yes! I will! Of course!" Charlotte's nerve broke, and she scurried up the passageway to the safety of her family's quarters. 

Charlotte's mother was very busy with correspondence late in that week, in no mood to be interrupted by her children. Charlotte never quite worked up the courage to ask her about the Duchess of Ursul's words. 

The weekend dawned bright and sunny, and Charlotte went down to the gardens intending to gather herbs for her lessons, but was quickly distracted by the warm weather and the plethora of daisies.

"He loves me, he loves me not…" Charlotte was terribly out of love today, and hoping for her luck to turn when Elodie wandered into the garden. She still looked cross, but smiled when she saw Charlotte.

"Lottie, do you have a boyfriend?" she giggled.

"Not really! I just like to play with the flowers." By not really, Charlotte meant not at all, but Elodie went to school: they probably all had boyfriends or girlfriends there! Of course, she'd have to marry a boy one day to ensure succession, but that didn't mean she had to have a boyfriend first.

"Me too." Elodie picked a daisy and gathered her skirt to sit down next to Charlotte, but suddenly looked off into the longer grass. 

"Charlotte, don't move!" she said firmly, and Charlotte held perfectly still. What could it be? She really hoped it wasn't an assassin!

It was a snake! Elodie tried to poke it away with a stick, but that only made it angry. It darted at Elodie and bit her on the ankle before slithering quickly away. Charlotte remembered her lessons: a pale snake with brown speckles was the highly poisonous milk viper.

"Ow!" Elodie cried, and sat down suddenly. "Charlotte, help! Get my father! My leg is going numb!"

Charlotte glanced around, but they were the only people in the garden. No-one would reach Elodie before the poison had spread up to her heart. Quickly, before she could talk herself out of it, she knelt down and placed her hands over the bite. 

Elodie bit back a sob, but Charlotte concentrated hard and a pale glow began to form over the bite, following the poison up Elodie's leg. Charlotte gathered it together, trying not to pull too much life out of Elodie, but it was very difficult. She bit her lip hard and focused on the bad feeling of the poison, pulling it away from Elodie and throwing it onto the grass. The grass withered, but the poison was gone and the wound healed up completely. Charlotte had never managed to heal so effectively before.

"How did you do that?" Elodie asked, her face pale and her eyes wide.

"I don't know how I can do it. I'm not supposed to tell anyone. People will think it's freaky." Charlotte shook her head. "You won't tell, will you?"

"Of course not." Elodie took Charlotte's hand. She felt several degrees too cold, but at least she was alive. "I'm lucky you were here."

Thankfully, Charlotte's mother strode into the garden at that moment. "Girls? I heard yelling."

"Nothing!" Charlotte chirped. If her mother found out that gossipy Elodie knew, she'd be in big trouble.

"We saw a snake, but it got away," Elodie added. 

Her mother looked appalled. "A snake! That's it. Charlotte, pack your things. We're going back to Merva. It's not safe here."

"No!" Charlotte protested, but her mother grabbed her by the arm and hauled her away. 

"Guards! Attend to the Crown Princess!" she called out as they went, and several men hurried into the garden. All Charlotte could do was wave to Elodie as they departed.

Servants dashed around packing up their things while Charlotte and her siblings were made to sit on Charlotte's bed and banned from moving. 

"It was just a snake," Charlotte said. "We have snakes at home all summer!" She was sulking, and she knew it wasn't entirely true. Milk vipers preferred much warmer climes and were rarely seen outside Kigal. 

"There's not supposed to be any snakes at all on Lampsi Island," Emry told her. "One of the old kings drove them all out and there's never been one since. Someone probably put it there to try to kill Elodie."

"Oh, that's why Mummy is so upset!" 

It took a full day to journey home, and Charlotte sulked the whole way. Now not only could she not help Elodie, she couldn't learn from Priestess Selene or the Duchess of Ursul! It was incredibly frustrating. 

In Merva, Charlotte maintained her bad mood for almost a week, distracted only by the fun of her dancing lessons. Her mother kept a close eye on her and tried to make the dancing mistress teach her some tricks of the noble trade – standing still and smiling – but Charlotte was far too cranky to pay much attention. 

Even on the Festival of the Good Lady she and her siblings were left in the castle while her parents attended. At least they got to see the fireworks from the windows, and Zahra's nanny kindly smuggled them some festival cakes so they didn't miss out entirely. 

"This is terrible," Emry mumbled through a mouthful of cake.

"Don't be ungrateful," Charlotte snapped.

"No, no, not the cake! The cake is delicious! I mean, being locked up here all the time just because someone tried to kill Cousin Elodie. I don't know how, but Mummy has closed off all the ways I usually sneak out."

"I miss my friends!" Zahra added. "I have to wave at them from my window."

Charlotte sighed. "All right, I'll talk to Mummy tomorrow and ask her if she will relax things a bit. Emry, you shouldn't be missing your fencing lessons."

"I know!" Emry rolled his eyes. "We only use wooden swords, it's not like it's dangerous!"

The next day, Charlotte tracked down her mother, who was in her rooms poring over an enormous genealogical chart. It looked very old. 

"Hello, Mummy!" Trying to be polite, Charlotte added, "What are you looking at?"

Her mother rolled up the chart before Charlotte could manage another look at it. 

"Don't worry, darling. Just some old relatives of ours."

Charlotte decided to stay on her mother's good side and not enquire further. "Mummy, Emry and Zahra aren't very happy being locked up. I was wondering if they could go out in the courtyard, at least?"

"You saw what nearly happened to Elodie, in her own gardens! It would look very odd indeed if we let the three of your wander around unescorted."

That sounded weird – why would it seem odd, rather than dangerous?

"Of course, Mummy, but I don't mean by ourselves. Emry wants to keep up his fencing training, and Zahra is missing her friends."

She sighed. "All right. But that doesn't mean I'll let Emry wander the castle willy nilly. He can go to his fencing lessons and elsewhere in the castle with a guard. Zahra can take a guard with her to the courtyard or the garden. And that's all."

Charlotte threw her arms around her mother. "Thank you, Mummy!" 

Emry and Zahra were thrilled by the slight relaxation of the rules, though it was still stricter than they were used to, and Charlotte decided to take advantage of this, too. She kept up her dancing lessons, of course, but instead of learning about appearing like a lady, she walked down to the physician's rooms. 

"Good afternoon, Physician Adbert!" She had checked that the whiskery old doctor wasn't attending to anyone, as she didn't want to be immediately thrown out for interrupting.

"Lady Merva! Are you all right?"

"Oh, yes, I'm fine. I only wanted to ask – when I was at the royal castle with my parents, they let me have tuition in healing from a priestess. I learned so much in a mere two weeks, and I'm ready to learn more."

"I've said no before and the answer is still no." 

Charlotte was ready for that. "Let me show you what I've learned, and if it's all wrong, I'll go away and won't bother you again. But Priestess Selene said I had a talent for the healing arts, and I don't want to waste that."

"Priestess Selene, I see." The doctor's frown had relaxed a little. "I know of her. The priestesses of the Good Lady are skilled healers, though obviously not the equal of a physician. Still, there's not enough physicians to treat everybody, and they do good work, especially on the battlefield."

Charlotte nodded eagerly. "That's one of the skills she started to teach me."

"Well, Lady Merva, what would you do if a soldier had a burn on his arm?"

"I would treat it with cool running water then lightly bandage it to keep it clean."

"Hmm. What if he had a deep wound that would not stop bleeding?"

"If pressure didn't stop the bleeding, it might have to be stitched closed."

"What about cauterisation?"

Charlotte frowned. She had learned about this in her last lesson with the Priestess. She thought hard. "Only in the direst emergencies because the burn itself might kill. But I would use fire to clean the needle before I stitched his wound."

The physician looked slightly less grumpy. "Well, you have been learning. I'll speak to your parents, and if they agree, I can see my way towards teaching you."

"Thank you so much!" Charlotte tried to look dignified and restrained as a healer should, but instead grinned ear to ear. 

Her mother was less enthusiastic. "Charlotte, you have a special talent for healing, and I don't want to discourage that, but I need to know I can trust you not to display that talent in front of Physician Adbert."

"I understand. I didn't show Priestess Selene, and I won't show the physician either. I don't want him to think I'm a freak."

Pulling Charlotte close, her mother kissed her on the head. "Oh, darling, you're not a freak. It's a magical talent that is in noble veins from the days of old. That doesn't mean other people will understand, though."

"I know. Elodie locked up the Duchess of Ursul on sight!"

"She's since relented and given her rooms at the castle, so that's a good start. Your father and I will be attending the Grand Ball next week, so I'll have a chance to speak with her then. Elodie's mother was a Lumen – a magic wielder – but her father is deeply opposed, and naturally he's a big influence on Elodie."

"Mummy, do Emry or Zahra have this talent?"

"Not that I've seen, no. But you're the heir, so perhaps it's concentrated in you."

Charlotte went to bed that night with thoughts rushing through her head. If Elodie's mother had been a Lumen, did that mean Elodie herself might yet be? And if Charlotte was, did that mean one of her parents was too? Or maybe it was further back, from the Ursul line, or from before the Duchy of Merva had become extinct, then given to her father, the Queen's brother. She knew her mother claimed descent from the old Merva line, but she wasn't sure what that meant. A lot of family records had been lost when the old capital was overrun by monsters, and, from rumours Charlotte had heard, no-one had dared go there ever since. The Duchess of Ursul had said that there had been Lumen crystals there, too: maybe whoever was ruling Merva at the time had lost theirs, or been attacked by the monsters. 

The court physician knew a tremendous amount, not just about healing, but about herbs and poisons as well, and made Charlotte work hard. She had to collect and identify assorted herbs and other substances to make potions and poultices, and almost everything she made was used on real patients. Apparently skirmishes had broken out in the southern Duchy of Hellas on the border with Ixion. That was a long way from Merva, the only road to the capital was through Mead and Merva to avoid the forest monsters of the old capital. The returning soldiers needed to rest and receive treatment for their injuries so that they could travel on. While Charlotte certainly wasn't allowed out of the castle to the tournament field where the soldiers rested, she did have the chance to assist with several of the worst hurt men who were brought into the castle for further treatment. The physician was so busy that Charlotte had several chances to help an injury heal without being spotted, though once when she healed up an infected wound she got a terrible fright.

The physician had told her to clean the man's arrow wound with burdock ointment in the hope of arresting the spread of infection. After doing that, she put her hand over wound above his knee: there was infection deep inside, deeper than the burdock would reach. She concentrated hard on drawing out the infection onto a cloth pad – she didn't need to kill grass anymore – without draining the patient's remaining energies.

"My lady, thank you," the soldier whispered, sitting up slightly and grabbing her arm. 

"I'm cleaning your wound," she told him hastily.

"I can see what you're doing, and bless you. I didn't know anyone was left who used the old ways."

Charlotte moved a little further down the bed, uncomfortable, and pulled her arm away from his grasp. She didn't stop healing until the infection was all drawn out, though. The soldier fell back on his pallet but kept staring at her until he fell asleep. Fortunately, the next day he had recovered so much that he had been sent out to the tournament field, and Charlotte didn't see him again. Surely people would dismiss his story as a fever dream? 

Charlotte was disappointed but not surprised that her parents weren't taking her to the Grand Ball. All the noble houses would be there, and if it was one of them who had attacked Elodie, well, the danger would be immediate. She felt terrible for Elodie, though, and wrote her a letter. 

"Dear Elodie,

Hope you are well! I'm sorry I can't come to the Grand Ball! I've been practising my dancing and everything but Mummy says it's too dangerous. I was happy to hear that you had let the Duchess of Ursul out of the dungeons. She seemed quite nice. Maybe she has some things to teach you? Please enjoy the Grand Ball on my behalf!

Love from Charlotte."

She carefully folded and sealed it, then slipped it into the ducal mailbag in her father's study the morning before the post went. With any luck, no-one would so much as glance at it until it arrived at Elodie's door. 

Days before her parents returned from the Grand Ball, Charlotte knew something had happened. There were sideways glances at all three children and conversations that suddenly stopped when they approached. With their mother away, Emry resumed his roaming through the castle, but even he failed to find out anything beyond the rumour that something had happened between the Crown Princess and their mother. The tension was so great that Charlotte and her siblings took to standing on the castle wall to try to spot the returning carriage, and eventually they did. 

They raced down to the courtyard and tucked themselves in behind a guard post, the best hiding spot in the courtyard. Several times they saw servants rushing past and calling out for them, but they stayed in place. There was no way they were missing out on being the first to greet their parents and find out what happened. Zahra didn't like hiding and started to cry, but Charlotte had brought a boiled sweet for exactly this purpose, and quickly stopped her tears. Emry needed no such bribe. 

"As soon as the carriage stops we have to run straight over there," he said. "The longer we wait, the more likely it is someone will catch us and take us to our rooms and then we'll never find out!"

Charlotte wasn't so confident in her ability to sprint across the courtyard fast enough to avoid the guards, but surely one of them would be able to make it. 

The gates opened and the carriage clattered into the courtyard. Charlotte peered at the coat-of-arms on the side: a tiny gold crown had been freshly added to the Merva design, but, not having studied heraldry, she had no idea what it meant. 

"Go!" Emry said and the three children sprinted for the carriage, each taking a slightly different path to avoid the guards. Zahra, the smallest, was quickly caught in the arms of a worried guard, but Emry and Charlotte dodged the waving arms and shot straight into their mother's arms as she stepped onto the ground, knocking her backwards into their father.

"Emry! Charlotte! Have they replaced my children with wild animals?" their mother scolded, but she was beaming, an expression she rarely bore. 

Their father scooped Zahra out of the guard's arms. "Well, I see that you've heard the news!" 

"No!" Charlotte was desperate to know. "We know that something happened, but not what! Is everyone all right? Is Elodie?"

"Everybody is fine. Come inside, and we'll tell you," her mother said, and pulled them along with her to their private chambers. Charlotte couldn't work out what it was, but her mother seemed taller, somehow, almost glowing, despite her dusty travelling cloak and plain dress. Their father wasn't as changed, but he looked extremely proud. 

"My darlings, you've heard a lot of rumours about the court, but I'm rather glad that I can be the one to tell you the news. Princess Elodie has named me as her Lumen Minister."

Emry and Zahra looked confused, but Charlotte's eyes opened wide. "You're a Lumen?" she gasped. 

"Yes, I am the heir to the Merva lumen crystal. It was not enough to prove my claim to the Merva line, but Queen Fidelia was wise enough to recognise that the Lumen would not have come to me if I was not capable of wielding it, and managed to pre-empt other claims by arranging for me to marry her own brother and creating him the new Duke of Merva. No-one could argue with the Queen's brother being given a title of his own. But in truth, she did it so that the Merva lumen could remain in the resurrected Merva line."

Charlotte burst into tears, "Mummy, don't die!"

"Whatever is the matter, Charlotte? I'm not about to die! I've been a Lumen since I was fourteen years old and…oh. You're worried that I want to pass the Lumen on to you?"

"Yes!" 

Emry and Zahra were crying now, too. 

"Oh, Charlotte, look what you've done now. Don't be so silly." 

The scolding actually made her feel better. "You're not going to die?"

"Not for a very long time. You can be trained in the basics of magic before you inherit your crystal, then when the time comes you'll be ready."

"Won't people be mean to us like they are to the Ursuls?" Emry asked, frowning.

"Princess Elodie is a Lumen herself and is starting to change how these things are viewed."

Charlotte realised she had never heard her mother use Elodie's title until today. This had certainly changed things!

"She is training hard and planning to usher in a new age for Lumens with my help, and the help of other Lumens amongst the nobles and religious orders. Charlotte, it's time to start instructing you formally. There's still a number of threats to the Princess's rule, and I'm not having you unprepared in case you need to step in."

"I'm sure she'll be fine with you to protect her!" Charlotte hugged her mother in delight, ignoring the comment about her having to inherit if Elodie died. She refused to think of such things.

True to her word, Charlotte's mother started training her in the basics of magical knowledge. While it seemed that, without a Lumen crystal herself, Charlotte wouldn't be able to access stronger magics, she could still learn about magical energies and items, and begin to sense when magic was present. Her mother seemed happier, too, though she was busier than ever with correspondence to Elodie and to various duchies. 

"Charlotte, darling," she said one morning. Charlotte was unsuccessfully trying to determine which of four identical wooden boxes contained an enchanted sewing needle, while her mother read through the morning dispatches. 

"Yes, Mummy?"

"Lady Sudbury's fifteenth birthday is next week, and her ascension to her title. Shall we all go to Sudbury for Gwenelle's party?"

"Oh, yes, let's!"

"I've heard that there's bandits in the area – we'll have to take a strong guard, but I'm sure we won't have any problems," her mother said with great confidence. Charlotte nodded: who would want to attack a Lumen?

Her mother was correct: there were no problems on the road, and they arrived safely with time to spare. Emry and Zahra were thrilled to finally be let out of the confined world of their castle and courtyard, so much so that their father allowed Emry to ride on top of the carriage with the guards because being in a small space with him was unbearable. Zahra, at least, was happy to sit and watch the world go by.

Elodie also arrived safely, though only barely before the party began. The moment that Gwenelle had made her official greeting, Charlotte dashed over to hug her cousin. 

"Hi 'Lodie, guess what? After the coronation Mummy says I can come and stay with you at the castle and we can talk about-" she lowered her voice dramatically, "-magic!"

Elodie grinned back. "I can't wait! Your mother has been such a big help to me – since I appointed her as the Lumen minister, the attempts on my life have practically ceased!"

Charlotte beamed in pride. They didn't have much of a chance to speak for the rest of the party, but Charlotte did notice that not many people were speaking to her parents, not even Gwenelle and her mother, and they were meant to be accomplished hosts. Charlotte took a plate of little cakes over to her mother, who sat with quiet dignity on a window seat.

"Here, Mummy, have a cake. The strawberry ones are delicious."

"Thank you, darling."

"Is everyone avoiding you because you're a Lumen? Elodie spoke to you, everyone should be following her lead!"

Her mother smiled, a cold expression that Charlotte knew wasn't directed at her or her cousin. "Princess Elodie is a lovely girl, and very wise, but she doesn't have a lot of authority yet. No matter how devotedly Lumens serve the kingdom, suspicion will to linger for a while yet."

Charlotte glanced up to see that Elodie had been cornered by Briony, Lady Mead. Mead and Merva were neighbours, so despite missing out on school, Charlotte knew the loud and impetuous Briony well. For once, she was keeping her voice down, so all Charlotte heard was "archives" and "come see you". Briony must be planning to visit Elodie: that would be nice!

When Charlotte made it over to Elodie, she looked worried rather than happy. 

"It will be fun for Briony to visit," Charlotte said, hoping to cheer her up.

"Shh! Don't say anything! It's a secret."

"Oh, no, I won't. But why? I was hoping she might visit Merva on the way, but I suppose not, if it's a secret."

"Her parents want her to stay at school but you know Briony. They should never let her get bored!"

Charlotte giggled. "That's true! Well, if you're having fun, ask if my mother will let me come over to the castle too."

"I will!" Elodie hugged Charlotte, but then it was time for the formal dinner and Gwenelle's official investiture, and they didn't have another chance to speak. 

Not long after the family returned to Merva, the court announced a general tournament in four weeks, with entry open to all. Emry was desperate to go, but their mother refused outright. 

"There's far too much danger."

"I don't want to compete, Mummy, I just want to watch!"

"The danger isn't the tournament itself, Emry. Duchess Ursul and I have seen things, and Princess Elodie has too…" She would not be more specific, but Charlotte noticed that their army was training hard and had a lot of new recruits. She quietly mentioned this to the physician. 

"Do you think there's going to be war?"

He shook his head. "Things are very unsettled with such a young Queen. Well, not Queen yet. She has weeks to go before that. It can't hurt to stock up on surgical supplies."

"I'll put a word in with my mother," Charlotte promised. She was studying Lumen lore this week, mostly reading from a dusty old book as her mother was far too busy to do more than answer the occasional question. She did, however, sign over the extra funds to Physician Adbert without hesitation, which made Charlotte more nervous than before. 

The week before the tournament, Charlotte was thrilled to receive two visitors, Briony and her mother Corisande, Duchess Mead. They were on their way home after Briony's visit to Elodie. 

"Thank you for having us." Duchess Mead embraced Charlotte's father upon alighting from the carriage. "The roads are far too dangerous to be travelling at night."

"It's not just bandits, either," he said as Duchess Mead moved on to embrace Charlotte's mother, which was certainly more than she had done at Gwenelle's party. "Several foreign spies have been picked up in coastal areas, and there's got to be more of them."

Charlotte stayed close, hoping the adults would keep talking. There were several nations bordering Nova, but as far as she knew they were all on good terms. The skirmish with Ixion earlier this year had been resolved, with no further bloodshed. She listened closely but was distracted when Briony leapt down from the top of the carriage and landed right in front of her.

"Briony! You scared the life out of me!"

"Mother let me sit up top and keep an eye out for enemies." She showed Charlotte her bow. "Didn't spot any, but I was ready."

"Oh, I don't know anything about weaponry," Charlotte told her, feeling rather alarmed to notice that Briony was also wearing a sword. 

"No, I guess you don't. Elodie does, but of course she can rely on her magic powers now." Briony sighed. "She and I were planning to ride out to Kathre Lake together, to the old capital."

"You can't!" Charlotte gasped. "It's full of monsters! Everyone knows that!"

Briony grimaced. "Yeah. But I thought maybe we could make it together. I'm kind of glad we didn't, though. My mother showed up after she realised I wasn't at school, finally, so I'm going home with her instead."

Charlotte put her hand on Briony's arm. "Are you all right, Briony? You seem really upset."

They proceeded into the castle, and up to Charlotte's room to help Briony change out of her travelling clothes. Charlotte's clothes wouldn't fit the tall and athletic girl, but her mother had a few dresses sent up. 

Briony flopped down on Charlotte's bed. "My mother said she would explain everything that's been happening with her and Uncle Kevan and what happened to the old Duke of Mead…but she hasn't. She's being totally evasive. Nothing changed at all. She only cares about herself, not the duchy or me."

"What do you think is happening?" Charlotte asked. "With your mother and Uncle Kevan, I mean?"

"I think they're plotting together or something. Uncle Kevan and my mother are always off together. I ask my dad but he only shrugs and says that we have to be kind to Uncle Kevan, he's been through a lot."

"That doesn't sound like much fun," Charlotte frowned. "Wait, isn't your dad's sister the Duchess of Ursul?"

"Yeah. I didn't talk to her at the castle because I was hiding out in the archives so Elodie and I could research our adventure. There must so much treasure at Kathre Lake! Everything from gold to Lumen crystals!"

"I was reading about it in my book of magical lore, and no-one's ever made it out, not even when the old Duke of Caloris took an entire battalion into the forest with him."

"I'm not going." Briony rolled her eyes. "Stop fussing. Elodie said that if my mother hadn't noticed me running away from school, she wouldn't notice if I had armloads of treasure. She was right."

"Well, I meant, maybe if things are bad at home, you could talk to your aunt, the Duchess of Ursul. She might be able to help."

Briony looked a bit brighter at that. "Good idea! If nothing else, she's a Lumen. She's got to have some exciting stories. Well, we'll be in the capital for the coronation in seven weeks, if we don't all get murdered by foreign spies first."

"Don't say that!" Charlotte held out the green satin dress. "Here, this will look lovely against your hair." 

Briony groaned, but got changed and, with Charlotte's help, was quite presentable for dinner. The adults kept talking about the rumours of war and Charlotte finally heard the source of their worries: Shanjia.

"What do you know about Shanjia?" she asked Briony, who was next to her at the table.

"Not much – they're across the ocean and they have a Queen?"

After farewelling Briony and her mother the next morning – Briony looking a little more cheerful at the prospect of talking to her aunt – Charlotte went straight to the library. It wasn't nearly as grand as the capital's archives, of course, but it had a decent number of the newer wood-cut print books, not only the old hand-written ones, which tended to be on religious topics. 

She pulled out one titled "The History of Shanjia in Three Parts" and flipped straight to the third part, the modern day. She skipped past chapters on their customs and food and music, to find that they were a large country that had expanded further by conquering several smaller countries with which they had previously shared a border. They were excellent shipwrights, but the author of the book seemed to think their soldiers were undisciplined and rough. Unfortunately, the book ended twelve years ago with the current Queen's marriage to a court musician, and Charlotte couldn't find anything more recent on the shelves. 

The rest of the week was taken up with the arrival of more medical supplies and stocking the infirmary, and it was not long after that that the bad news came: a huge Shanjian fleet was sailing towards Nova. 

Charlotte's mother left for the capital immediately, and Emry had a good try at smuggling himself into her carriage to go along with her. Sadly for Emry, he couldn't stay still long enough for them to make it two miles down the road, and he was swiftly returned in custody of a cranky and footsore guard. 

"What were you thinking?" Charlotte scolded him. 

"I want to fight!"

"You're nine years old, and besides, the battle is at sea and you've never been on any vessel bigger than a barge."

"I could still guard Mummy!" 

"She doesn't need to be distracted by keeping an eye out for you." With that, Charlotte packed him off to his room. 

Zahra clung to her sister. "Charlotte, is someone attacking Mummy?"

"No, Zahra, it's Elodie that they're after. Mummy is helping defend her."

That didn't sound as comforting as Charlotte had meant, but it seemed to be enough for Zahra, who immediately decided that she would embroider Elodie's royal crest onto a handkerchief for a present to cheer her up. Zahra had a good hand for a little girl, and Charlotte happily sent her off to complete her task. 

Charlotte set herself a busy schedule, studying whatever bits of knowledge about Shanjia she could glean, because she was sure that if she stopped for a second she would panic. The only solid information that she found was that the Queen's consort had been crowned King in his own right, and was chief among her generals. That was no use! 

News came in from the capital, and it wasn't good: despite the best efforts of the Novan fleet, the Shanjian ships had outnumbered and overwhelmed them. Elodie was still safe in the capital, but the Shanjians had landed their army on the coast of the Duchy of Mazomba and were advancing at a great pace. The king's brother was the Duke of Mazomba, and had fortified his castle expecting an attack, but the Shanjian army had ignored his forces completely and moved directly against the capital. 

It took four days for the wounded to start pouring in, shipped up the river from Caloris and Mazomba to the well-supplied infirmary at Merva. Charlotte knew that her mother was relying on her to heal as many men as she could, and she threw caution to the wind. The worst injured men had drowned or succumbed to their wounds already, so the men sent to Merva were mostly sick with rampaging infections in their wounds. Charlotte's intense study and earlier treatment of wounded men had led her to have a better understanding of which injuries she could help and which were too great: if the bowels were perforated, there was little she could do to help, so Physician Adbert would give the soldier a strong sleeping draught to ease him into the next world. Infected wounds of other kinds, especially wounds where it was the infection killing rather than the wound itself, were ideally suited to her special powers. She drew infection from the blood of soldier after soldier, poulticing with herbs afterwards to prevent re-infection. The physician pressed the junior kitchen staff into service, having them mix the salve for Charlotte so that she didn't have to stop until she actually fell asleep on her feet. 

"Good girl," Physician Adbert said, with a warm hand on her shoulder. "You're saving so many – far more than I could save with my own skills."

"It's the right thing to do," Charlotte said weakly, before turning to the next soldier. 

The days passed in a blur and Charlotte quite honestly forgot about the invading army outside the castle walls – indeed, anything beyond the infirmary became unimportant. The next she knew about it, a great cheer rang out from the injured men. 

"What happened?" Charlotte asked the nearest soldier. 

"The Princess defeated the King of Shanjia! Sliced his head right off with a magic sword made of moonlight! His generals are on the run!" 

"Really?" Charlotte felt weak at the knees and sat down on the end of the man's pallet. "The last time I saw Elodie with a sword they weren't letting her use a real blade!" That had been when she and her parents visited the capital, only months ago, but it felt like years. 

"Our Princess doesn't need one," the soldier in the next bed said proudly. "She's got powerful magic to defend us."

"That she has," the other soldier replied, and Charlotte was startled to see nothing but pride and delight in the man's face. She could easily imagine how the idea of a magic execution sword would have been greeted a few months ago. Elodie really was changing everyone's opinion of Lumens and magic! 

Charlotte's mother didn't return to Merva, but instead sent for the family to join her in the capital. They had to wait, though, while troops mopped up the last of the Shanjian soldiers – their generals had fled immediately, but many troops had stayed behind to pillage in an attempt to gain something from their failed venture. Reinforcements from further-away duchies such as Kigal and Hellas had now had time to mobilise fully, and sent reinforcements to aid the exhausted and wounded troops of the duchies along the western coast. Wounded men, along with civilian victims of the wandering Shanjians, continued to flood into Merva, and Charlotte's work did not let up for a full fortnight. She did, however, find that the life force in babies and children was so exceptionally strong that it was much easier to heal their injuries than those of adults. 

One day, Charlotte looked up from her recovering patient to the next in the queue and realised that there was no next patient. She had treated the last injury of the invasion. She wandered down to her father's rooms in a daze, not sure of what she should do now. 

He was sitting with Emry and Zahra on his knees, reading to them from a smudgily printed pamphlet. "…and that's how Princess Elodie defeated the evil King Togami and put an end to his invasion."

"Yay!" Zahra and Emry cheered. 

"Charlotte, darling!" her father called, and she hurried over to his embrace, leaning on him heavily. "How are you? You look exhausted."

"I am! But the patients have stopped coming. Are the Shanjians gone?"

"They're still mopping up the last resistance on the coast of Mazomba, but they're gone from everywhere else."

"Elodie did it!" Emry shouted. 

"Yes, she did." Charlotte yawned. 

"We're heading to the capital for her coronation the day after tomorrow – you should go and rest, Charlotte, so you're ready to travel."

"I'm not sick," Charlotte protested, "Just tired!" Another yawn overtook her so she stopped arguing and went straight up to bed. 

Charlotte's family had been invited a little early to help prepare for the coronation. When their carriage arrived at the castle – it had been a safe journey, though the scars of the brief occupation were visible in burned villages and fresh grave pits – Charlotte was surprised that Elodie was there alongside Charlotte's mother. She would have thought Elodie was far too busy to come greet them, but maybe Elodie wanted to see familiar faces after all she'd been through. 

After a quick hug with her mother, Charlotte grinned at Elodie. "Hi 'Lodie! Mummy says you have all the best tutors and I should take classes with you!"

"Hi Lottie!" As Elodie threw her arms around Charlotte, Charlotte could sense something very different about Elodie: her Lumen crystal called out to Charlotte and Charlotte was almost knocked off her feet by its power. 

"'Lodie…" It was hard to force the words out now. 

Elodie took a step away, thankfully, and put her hands on Charlotte's shoulders. "What's the matter?"

Charlotte took a deep breath. "Now she's a minister, Mummy's been telling me more about Lumens. She wants me to learn about magic so I can be one when I'm older. But she says I need a crystal and the only way to get one is when she dies…or you die… I don't want to be a Lumen anymore!" Charlotte burst into tears as all the stress of the past weeks overwhelmed her.

Elodie didn't seem fazed in the slightest. "Don't worry. We're both going to live a very long time."

"Really?" Charlotte snuffled.

"I promise."

Charlotte's mother took her away, but Charlotte could feel her mother's crystal speaking to her in the same way, and it only made her cry more. 

"Charlotte, darling, it's all right. We have two more crystals, one from a man who tried to attack Elodie, and one from the King of Shanjia. We can try those. And if not, you have a wonderful skill that you can use until I pass away, long in the future."

That made Charlotte feel a little better. "I'll try, Mummy. Elodie's bond with her crystal is really strong now and it was a bit overwhelming. Your crystal feels…nice." 

Charlotte's mother pulled her close. "Of course it does, darling. It's part of me, and I love you."

The next week was far too busy with preparations for the coronation for Charlotte to have a chance to try the two crystals, but she did get to meet with the Duchess of Ursul. Priestess Selene was there, too, and Charlotte was delighted to meet her again.

"Thank you so much for teaching me about healing! What you taught me convinced Physician Adbert to let me learn with him and I've helped so many patients since."

"I'm delighted to hear that," Selene told her. "I am a Lumen myself, but your healing talents are certainly stronger than mine."

"You are?" Charlotte blinked. "I can't feel your crystal like I can Elodie's and my mother's."

The Duchess touched her chest and Charlotte saw her Lumen crystal glow there. "Don't worry, Charlotte. Different crystals have different resonance, and there's many scholarly debates over whether it is the Lumen affecting the crystal or the crystal affecting the Lumen. Nonetheless, I am very impressed by your healing talents – I was not aware until recently that a child carried by a Lumen mother could inherit a little of her power without a crystal of her own."

"Oh! Did Elodie inherit some power from her mother, too?" 

The Duchess looked a little sour. "She did."

Selene laughed. "Don't listen to Julianna. She's cranky that instead of something useful like your healing talents, Elodie has the power to glow."

Charlotte laughed, too. "Well, she'll never be scared of the dark again!"

Even the Duchess smiled a little at that. 

The coronation was a beautiful ceremony, Elodie kneeling before Priestess Selene to receive her crown and sceptre, with all the nobles of the realm affirming her reign. People were much warmer towards Charlotte's mother now, and Charlotte was delighted. The other nobles were almost as welcoming to the Duchess of Ursul, not that it changed her sour demeanour a jot. 

"Long live the Queen!" Charlotte shouted along with the rest of the court, a heartfelt cry, though Charlotte added in her own fervent prayer that it would be true, and she wouldn't have to inherit Elodie's crystal and her crown. "Long live the Queen!"

A day after the feasting, Charlotte, her mother, the Duchess of Ursul and Priestess Selene all met in Elodie's throne room. Elodie, despite her newfound dignity, had managed to give herself hiccups eating too much cake.

"Here," Charlotte said, and put her hand on the band of muscle at the bottom of Elodie's lungs. She let a tiny fraction of her power seep into the spasming muscle and relieve its contortions.

"Oh! Thank you, Charlotte! That's much better."

The Duchess brought out two boxes of made of deeply etched silver. Charlotte understood a few of the runes that covered the box, but not enough to put together the engraved incantations. 

"Charlotte, I need you to open a box and tell me if you feel any pull towards the crystal inside," the Duchess told her. Charlotte glanced up at her mother, who looked quite nervous. 

"What happens if it doesn't feel right?" Charlotte asked. 

"Then that crystal isn't right for you and we will try another one," the Duchess replied. "My Queen, Countess Nix, you'll need to stand back so that the resonance of your crystals doesn't confuse Charlotte."

"Of course," Charlotte's mother said, and took Elodie to the other end of the throne room with her. Elodie peeked over her shoulder the whole way in case she was missing out on something, but Charlotte waited until Elodie was at the other end of the hall and could watch unimpeded.

"All right, Charlotte. Whenever you're ready." The Duchess held out the two boxes again and Charlotte took one at random. She couldn't feel anything inside the boxes at all, but she supposed that was the point of all the magical engraving. 

When she flipped up the lid, an orange crystal lay on a piece of velvet. It throbbed with energy, but Charlotte felt vaguely repelled by it. She touched it with a fingertip but quickly pulled away. "That feels awful! It really wants to be part of a person again, but it's definitely not for me."

"How does it feel to you? What kind of 'awful'?" Selene asked her gently, closing the box. 

Charlotte was relieved it was gone. "Um, like it wants me to grab it, and, um, run around grabbing everything. It's a show-off and it doesn't care about healing one little bit."

The Duchess and Selene looked at each other and Selene nodded, but Charlotte didn't know why.

"Didn't you know that?" Charlotte asked them.

"We suspected, but it's difficult to read a crystal once you have one of your own."

"Try the other one," Selene told her. "Unless you need more time to compose yourself?"

"No, I'm fine." Charlotte opened the second box and recoiled. This one was worse! It was a deep purple in colour with a long streak of red through the centre and it was incredibly angry.

"This is terrible! It wants…it wants power and it likes to hurt people. You should destroy this one entirely."

"Sadly, that's not possible," the Duchess said. "Is there nothing good in it at all?"

Charlotte edged near it again. "It's very protective? If someone friendly had it, it would strive to take care of whoever it considered its own. But it wants to do that by killing people!"

"We'll have to find just the right person for that one, then." The Duchess closed both boxes and Charlotte sighed in relief. 

"I'm sorry I can't bond with these crystals," Charlotte told them. In truth, she was extremely relieved that she didn't have the same reaction to these scary crystals as she had to Elodie's and her mother's. 

Elodie rushed down from the other end of the hall to hug Charlotte. Her crystal did not pull at Charlotte so hard now: she was starting to think of it as part of Elodie. "Thank you for trying! In the future we'll destroy the monsters at Kathre Lake and recover the crystals lost there. I'm sure there'll be one that suits you."

"I'm sure there will," Charlotte told her, though she privately thought that she was perfectly happy developing the skills she had now, rather than having to do things like make magic swords and have duels!

In the end, the orange crystal did find a new home, with Briony. Charlotte finally understood the significance of the Duchess and Selene's meaningful glance when they held a life bond ceremony in the garden and formally adopted Briony as their heir. Briony, far from her usual loudness and brave front, had been terribly quiet at the coronation, avoiding both her mother and her Uncle Kevan, and her grandmother, the powerful Duchess of Lillah. Charlotte had no idea what that was all about, but nonetheless she was pleased for Briony, who looked a lot happier to be off to live in Ursul rather than Mead. The orange crystal bonded with her instantly, in their shared impetuousness and boundless nerve.

"Don't worry, Charlotte!" Briony told her. "As soon as I've worked out this Lumen thing, Elodie and I will mount an expedition to Kathre Lake. It's going to be awesome! We'll find you a crystal for sure."

"Thank you, that would be lovely. But please don't put yourself at risk," Charlotte told her. Honestly, she was perfectly happy with the abilities she had and would much rather that all her friends and family were alive and well than she had access to more powers. Her mother, unfortunately, tended to disagree, but she was so busy that, most of the time, she didn't bother Charlotte about it. 

Charlotte was hugely relieved that everything had worked out so well: Elodie was on the throne and discussing marriage alliances, her mother was in high regard both at court and at home, and Charlotte, along with Priestess Selene, were starting to build a network of hospitals throughout the country, even if they couldn't quite make Elodie understand why this was a good idea. Nova was strong, Elodie's rule was assured, and the future was bright. Charlotte couldn't have wished for a happier ending.


End file.
